SINCE ASSUMING the chair of Equality Alabama earlier this month, I have found more than enough to keep myself busy. Our organization is already involved in a myriad of issues surrounding the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, but we have been especially focused on anti-gay bullying and the tragic consequences that sometimes result.

That and the issue of “don’t ask, don’t tell” — the policy that forces LGBT service members to lie about who they are while purporting honor, are the most talked about LGBT issues currently in the news.

It is quite a task trying to keep up and respond to everything I might hear on talk radio, or read in the newspapers or on blogs about LGBT issues, but I give it my best.

Twice during this month I have read that all gays are in misery and that we cannot find peace and happiness in our lives. This is the kind of misinformation that not only is just plain wrong, and makes the writers look foolish, but to a questioning young person might have the same effect as physical bullying.

If you were taught that you could never experience peace or happiness, how much effort would you put in trying to achieve those standards?

A recent survey of Alabama high school students by the Alabama Safe Schools Coalition reveals that 59 percent of respondents had experienced verbal harassment at school, and that 18 percent of them had skipped school because they felt unsafe.

More disturbing is that the harassment they experienced led to low self-esteem in 89 percent of respondents, and that 43 percent had considered suicide. The fact that almost half of any group of kids is considering suicide should throw up a big red flag.

Yet adults who should know better continue to write and say hurtful things that kids might hear or read.

Equality Alabama is working with other organizations in the state to strengthen the anti-harassment policies in our schools. Only a couple of school systems in our state have policies that include sexual orientation and/or gender identity among the personal characteristics listed specifically for protection. (Baldwin County is one of those systems.)

But with more than 150 school systems in the state, approaching each system individually might be ineffective. So we are urging state legislators and/or the state school board to mandate the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the policies.

And to any young, questioning people who are reading this: Yes, you can have peace and happiness. There are LGBT people all around you doing just that.

If you are troubled, there are people ready to listen and offer help.

As for “don’t ask, don’t tell,” one doesn’t normally think of bullying or harassment when discussing the military, but in effect, that is what the current policy results in.

The blogosphere is full of stories of service men and women who have been harassed, blackmailed, even killed over their real or perceived sexual orientation.

The military is supposed to consist of men and women of the highest honor. But where is the honor in being told you must lie to your fellow soldiers and lie to your commanding officers about who you are?

And how can a soldier be expected to be able to contribute fully when he or she can’t speak about their partner in conversation while others are celebrating anniversaries across oceans or telling tales of their high school and college days?

The reality is that “don’t ask, don’t tell” itself is a security risk.

For one, the examples given above provide anecdotal evidence of military misgivings that could interfere with readiness. But just as troubling is the fact that military translators who could be used to decipher messages involving terrorism and threats have been discharged because of their sexual orientation.

My mother would call this “cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

The facts are simple. Gays and lesbians have always fought in our military and in militaries around the world. In countries where gays and lesbians are allowed to serve openly, there is no effect on military cohesion or readiness.

Congress has the power to act on this, and Congress should follow the will of the people. And President Obama — after tirelessly stating that “don’t ask, don’t tell” would end under his watch — needs to lead, not flounder, on the issue.

Instead of refusing to stop the discharges by executive order or telling his Justice Department not to fight the court rulings on the matter, the president should make good on his promise.

People who want to lean more about Equality Alabama can visit our soon-to-be-updated website at www.equalityalabama.org.

Joe Openshaw is interim chairman of Equality Alabama. His e-mail address is metrocat10@aol.com.